OnlytheStrong
Explorer
Runihuna moves to follow the spirit guardian. "A guardian. He will lead us to where we need to be. Come."
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Khemet - Epic Egyptian Campaign [IC and intro]
- Thread starter Brazeku
- Start date
Ran-Osiris quickly leads you deeper into the city while Ammut is distracted. Before long, you stand in the shadow of the temple of the God who is clearly his patron - the temple of Osiris himself. The building is majestic to behold. It climbs into the sky, perfect limestone facades dark against the red-streaked clouds, great columns and flawless statues towering on either side of the entrance like mute giants. The temple is easily the size of a palace, and remains completely unmarred by the chaos that roils at its feet. Ran-Osiris stops at the doorway only briefly before bustling in and you assume that you’re expected to follow suit.
The entire interior of the building is polished into gleaming perfection. White stone surfaces glitter and shine in the light cast from a row of hanging braziers in the center of the grand hallway. On either side you see countless depictions of Osiris’ journey to the underworld, lovingly detailed in lapis lazuli, golden flecks catching the light and suggesting subtle movement. Ran-Osiris speaks aloud while you walk.
“I’ll be quick, for there is little time. As you have no doubt gathered there is a problem to be dealt with, the ba-spirits of the dead remain trapped in this world and cannot travel to the next.”
The falcon-headed man runs a hand along a few cartouches on the wall. They glow faintly blue at his touch, before the wall itself ripples like water and he steps through.
“Your – our – true enemy is not Ammut. It is the High Priest of Meres. After the eye of flame was opened, he died the death of the unjust as he rightly should have. Yet somehow, while facing his judgment in the hall of the dead, he stole the Book of the Dead and struck his name from the pages. This act has rendered him at once nameless and immortal.”
Ran-Osiris leads you downward along a spiraling staircase. Here, the walls are rough-hewn, but carved with mystical sigils that radiate magic and power; these are not decoration but wards of protection.
“The High Priest has done something to the hall of the dead. Its doors are locked to new spirits, he has unchained and dominated Ammut, and he gathers specific ba-spirits for purposes we have no inkling of. Even the divine eye cannot see into the darkness he has cast about the hall - this most pressing of matters is one of the reasons for your creation.”
You arrive in a large subterranean chamber that glows with soft torchlight. A clear pool of water stands in its center, flanked on all sides by countless weights, measures, and carefully balanced scales, interconnected like a delicately suspended web. You get the sense that the slightest movement could disturb the entire display. A number of other falcon-headed men sit or stand about the edges of the chamber, watching you expectantly.
“No doubt this seems strange to you, so allow me to explain. I am not a God, and I may not create or destroy outright – instead, to work our sorceries, we take from one place and add to another. These scales, when balanced properly, allow us to use this pool to transport people into realms that would otherwise be barred, such as the underworld, or areas warded by ancient magic. They work by ‘negating’ the regular barriers set in place by forces divine or otherwise. To break specific barriers we require weights of specific substances in order to establish the correct sympathy.”
“Right now, our primary goal is to reach the High Priest and send him to his appropriate judgment. Unfortunately we can’t reach him, as he has sealed his realm off with magic that we cannot penetrate. We do not know what substance we require to break through the barrier. We know that Ammut is capable of passing through, however, yet we haven’t ever been close enough to see how this is done.”
“We require both your insight and your courage. This is the information that we have, if there is anything you have seen that suggests a path forward, we will listen. If there are questions that you have, we will answer.”
The entire interior of the building is polished into gleaming perfection. White stone surfaces glitter and shine in the light cast from a row of hanging braziers in the center of the grand hallway. On either side you see countless depictions of Osiris’ journey to the underworld, lovingly detailed in lapis lazuli, golden flecks catching the light and suggesting subtle movement. Ran-Osiris speaks aloud while you walk.
“I’ll be quick, for there is little time. As you have no doubt gathered there is a problem to be dealt with, the ba-spirits of the dead remain trapped in this world and cannot travel to the next.”
The falcon-headed man runs a hand along a few cartouches on the wall. They glow faintly blue at his touch, before the wall itself ripples like water and he steps through.
“Your – our – true enemy is not Ammut. It is the High Priest of Meres. After the eye of flame was opened, he died the death of the unjust as he rightly should have. Yet somehow, while facing his judgment in the hall of the dead, he stole the Book of the Dead and struck his name from the pages. This act has rendered him at once nameless and immortal.”
Ran-Osiris leads you downward along a spiraling staircase. Here, the walls are rough-hewn, but carved with mystical sigils that radiate magic and power; these are not decoration but wards of protection.
“The High Priest has done something to the hall of the dead. Its doors are locked to new spirits, he has unchained and dominated Ammut, and he gathers specific ba-spirits for purposes we have no inkling of. Even the divine eye cannot see into the darkness he has cast about the hall - this most pressing of matters is one of the reasons for your creation.”
You arrive in a large subterranean chamber that glows with soft torchlight. A clear pool of water stands in its center, flanked on all sides by countless weights, measures, and carefully balanced scales, interconnected like a delicately suspended web. You get the sense that the slightest movement could disturb the entire display. A number of other falcon-headed men sit or stand about the edges of the chamber, watching you expectantly.
“No doubt this seems strange to you, so allow me to explain. I am not a God, and I may not create or destroy outright – instead, to work our sorceries, we take from one place and add to another. These scales, when balanced properly, allow us to use this pool to transport people into realms that would otherwise be barred, such as the underworld, or areas warded by ancient magic. They work by ‘negating’ the regular barriers set in place by forces divine or otherwise. To break specific barriers we require weights of specific substances in order to establish the correct sympathy.”
“Right now, our primary goal is to reach the High Priest and send him to his appropriate judgment. Unfortunately we can’t reach him, as he has sealed his realm off with magic that we cannot penetrate. We do not know what substance we require to break through the barrier. We know that Ammut is capable of passing through, however, yet we haven’t ever been close enough to see how this is done.”
“We require both your insight and your courage. This is the information that we have, if there is anything you have seen that suggests a path forward, we will listen. If there are questions that you have, we will answer.”
OnlytheStrong
Explorer
Runihuna hears his bow confirm every word spoken by the spirit guardians. He moves around the temple, looking for clues in the pictures on the wall. "How does one remove their name from the Black Book?"
Upon hearing Minnefret’s words, Ran-Osiris nods solemnly.
“What you speak of sounds like an offering; foods are left out for ba-spirits to consume while they ready themselves for their journey to the underworld. If anything, it seems likely that the offering attracted ba-spirits, which in turn attracted Ammut. Yet this does raise an interesting question. There are two possible reasons for a person to have placed an offering in an area so choked with dead: either to appease their lost ones, or to call them forth.”
“It is also possible that the person placing the offerings knows of Ammut and wished to beckon her forth. The most likely reasons for this are troubling at best. I know of no mortals in the city who could do this safely, though there may be some who would undertake such a deadly task.”
Meanwhile, Runihuna is studying the various mystical sigils carved into the walls. Unlike most temple walls these are bereft of any scenes or depictions, instead the designs consist of row upon row of hieroglyphs, carefully arranged to spell out ancient words of protection and constancy. Blue and violet light courses gently along their lines. The words can be read, but their content looks like gibberish to you – they must be in another language or a secret tongue.
Ran-Osiris begins to speak once more. “To answer your question, Runihuna - the high priest should not have been able to strike his name from the book of the dead. The pages are immutable, and protected by the divine power of Re himself. However, it bears mentioning that the high priest was a master scribe in his mortal life, and wrote literally hundreds of sacred scrolls for use in burials and as charms. If he has somehow learned how to alter the book, it is imperative that we recover it from his clutches immediately. He must be stopped.”
“If we cannot discover the substances necessary to enter the underworld, there is another, albeit more dangerous way. One could travel through Ammut’s own portal. But I’m sure you can understand the danger. This method would be a last resort.”
“What you speak of sounds like an offering; foods are left out for ba-spirits to consume while they ready themselves for their journey to the underworld. If anything, it seems likely that the offering attracted ba-spirits, which in turn attracted Ammut. Yet this does raise an interesting question. There are two possible reasons for a person to have placed an offering in an area so choked with dead: either to appease their lost ones, or to call them forth.”
“It is also possible that the person placing the offerings knows of Ammut and wished to beckon her forth. The most likely reasons for this are troubling at best. I know of no mortals in the city who could do this safely, though there may be some who would undertake such a deadly task.”
Meanwhile, Runihuna is studying the various mystical sigils carved into the walls. Unlike most temple walls these are bereft of any scenes or depictions, instead the designs consist of row upon row of hieroglyphs, carefully arranged to spell out ancient words of protection and constancy. Blue and violet light courses gently along their lines. The words can be read, but their content looks like gibberish to you – they must be in another language or a secret tongue.
Ran-Osiris begins to speak once more. “To answer your question, Runihuna - the high priest should not have been able to strike his name from the book of the dead. The pages are immutable, and protected by the divine power of Re himself. However, it bears mentioning that the high priest was a master scribe in his mortal life, and wrote literally hundreds of sacred scrolls for use in burials and as charms. If he has somehow learned how to alter the book, it is imperative that we recover it from his clutches immediately. He must be stopped.”
“If we cannot discover the substances necessary to enter the underworld, there is another, albeit more dangerous way. One could travel through Ammut’s own portal. But I’m sure you can understand the danger. This method would be a last resort.”
OnlytheStrong
Explorer
Runihuna nods when he hears the last comments of the spirit. He understood those options, though neither sounded like a good idea. "If a mortal has caused this problem, and making this mortal a spirit will put an end to it; then let us kill this mortal." He scratches his chin as he sorts out his thoughts, "The mortal will have near god-like powers, one would assume. Bah! What have I to fear from death? I have been to the Underworld! I have seen it's depths! I have been chosen by the gods!" Runihuna thrusts his bow in the air as he says the last sentence, as if showing the spirits the link to his god. "Let us find this mortal and put things the way they should be."
"That," Minnefret says, "is what we're trying to do. The 'mortal' is on the other side. We're trying to determine the best way to follow."
"Now, at the place Ammut came through, there were traces of those offerings on the ground, as well as the impression of something large that had recently been moved."
She nods at the device Ran-Osiris had showed.
"It could have been something like that...or a more conventional offeratory." She sighs.
"So...back to a blank papyrus then. Ran-Osiris. What would the consequences of all or some of us leaving this place to seek more evidence be...if any?"
"Now, at the place Ammut came through, there were traces of those offerings on the ground, as well as the impression of something large that had recently been moved."
She nods at the device Ran-Osiris had showed.
"It could have been something like that...or a more conventional offeratory." She sighs.
"So...back to a blank papyrus then. Ran-Osiris. What would the consequences of all or some of us leaving this place to seek more evidence be...if any?"
Similar Threads
